“The journey is the reward.” – Chinese proverb

A Whole Weekend of Family Home Evening, But We Left Out the “Home” Part

Stories to laugh, cry, and love

This weekend was the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival. It was fun for most of us, but I’m pretty sure we bored Casi to tears. It’s got to be tough to sit and listen to hour upon hour of storytellers tell stories in accents and language that you are unfamiliar with, for two days, no matter how good the tellers are. Nonetheless, Casi survived, and it was a great festival. If you’ve never gone, I strongly recommend it.

Baby Blessing Happiness

Sunday was a baby blessing (it’s like christening) for my newest nephew, so we drove up to attend that at his family’s ward (think parish, it’s similar, only Mormon). It was so wonderful to see family and celebrate the new life that has come to their family.

Soap Soap Soap

Today was a wonderful, blessed, sleep-in day. After we were awake, Mei Guo, and Miss Electric convinced me to teach them how to make soap. Lovely, lovely, gentle-to-the-skin, castille soap. Mei Guo’s was pear scented and green, but we’ll see how it comes out in a few days when it’s finished cooking itself. Fragrances and colors can be a little unpredictable with cold process soap. Miss Electric made her batch pink and rose scented. Hers was done using a hot process method, and that makes the color outcome more easily predicted and controlled. After today, I think I’ll have had enough rose fragrance to last me a while.

Mistakes never tasted so good!

Black Forest Cake

After we had most of the soap mess all cleaned up, Mei Guo decided to make a practice Black Forest Cake. It’s German week at Restaurant Forte, and she and another girl in her class are in charge of the desserts. It’s a good thing she practiced, because she learned how confusing the recipe she’d been given was to follow. Hopefully she made all the mistakes this time around and everything will go smoothly when she has to make the cake, along with apple strudel, and gingerbread with ice cream to serve at the restaurant this Thursday and Friday. The great thing though, about Mei Guo practicing, is that we and our neighbors get to enjoy the outcome, regardless of mistakes. It just so happens that this is one of Casi’s favorite kinds of cake. What a lucky day for her!

Tonight, Arctic Boy suggested we go see Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters. I thought this movie was better than the first one, and enjoyed it. I love when you can take a family to a movie and it’s not full of potty humor and innuendo. And I really loved the zombies. 🙂